


Lemon and Mint

by rollingday_s



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: AU, Angst, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-06
Updated: 2017-04-06
Packaged: 2018-10-15 10:09:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10554550
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rollingday_s/pseuds/rollingday_s
Summary: You know something's different when he comes home and you can smell a faint scent of citrus still lingering on his skin. He kisses you, but it doesn't taste like it always does. No traces of lemon and mint. His tongue tastes like liquorice instead. And that's how you know something's really wrong.





	

**Author's Note:**

> **Warning** : This fic is built around the concept of a cheating partner/spouse.
> 
> Previously posted on LJ. Arashi don't belong to me etc. etc.

You know something's different when he comes home and you can smell a faint scent of citrus still lingering on his skin. He kisses you, but it doesn't taste like it always does. No traces of lemon and mint. His tongue tastes like liquorice instead. And that's how you know something's really wrong.

    You close your eyes so you can't see that the smile that he had when he had said goodbye disappeared when he said hello. That night, you lie in bed and listen to the sound of his breathing while he lays beside you. You can only see his back. You stretch your arms and try to hug him, and he lets you. You feel his breathing stop, and you know he's awake. You ask him why he's not sleeping. He laughs and says he was thinking. 'What are you thinking of?' you ask. 'How beautiful you were the day we first met,' he answers after a while, and you desperately want that to be the truth, so you believe it and you both fall asleep holding each other's bodies.

    You wake up but he's not there. He left a note saying he's at work, and he will be late, so you should eat dinner without him. You spend the morning worrying that you might be getting fat, so you don't eat for the whole day. When he comes back, he finds you on the couch, looking back at some old photos. He sits beside you and starts pointing at the pictures. You are so happy that he's laughing and remembering with you that it's easier for you to pretend that you didn't smell the citrus as soon as he got home.

    Two days pass by. Two days of lemon and mint. You tell him that you love him, and he doesn't say it right back. Your heart aches when you look into his eyes and see his guilt. He smiles and tells you he loves you too before giving you a kiss on the cheek. Your broken heart is on the floor, and you pick up the pieces. You try to glue it back together, but the pieces don't fit. You hide them under the rug and keep your silence.

    One day he tells you he has a new friend and he will introduce you. He says his name is Nino, and he's been transferred to his department three months ago. The first thing you notice is that he smells of citrus and liquorice. The second is the sparkle in your lover's eyes when he talks about him as he invites him into your home. “Nice to meet you, my name is Ninomiya Kazunari,” he says bowing his head slightly and holding out his hand. He's short, skinny and pale, and has a smug look in his eyes. You take his hand and introduce yourself. The smell doesn't seem to fade, and you don't feel like eating so you just nibble on your dinner. Your lover doesn't notice anything.

    He drives Ninomiya home and you're left alone. The smell is still in the air and it's making you nauseous. You clean the apartment till the whole house smells like roses instead, but then he comes back and the scent is on his skin again and you can't stand it, not tonight. You let him go to bed and pretend you want to watch a movie, when really you're just planning on sleeping on the couch.

    You wake up to the smell of eggs. He's in the kitchen, preparing breakfast. You haven't eaten much in days, and you're hungry. He gives you two eggs on top of a bowl of rice and you eat it up. He takes some pages from the newspaper and gives them to you. You remember the day you first moved in together and smile at the thought. That day, as well, he had made eggs and rice, and you had sat like this, eating and reading. _Maybe today will be okay_ , you think as you eat your rice.

    The next day, he says 'let's get married,' and you just nod. He smiles so happily when he puts a ring on your finger and you start tearing up. He thinks they are tears of joy, and you let him believe it. You get married six months later on a bright Sunday surrounded by friends and family. He invites his friend Ninomiya, and he's in every picture you take, like a ghost hunting you. But the engraving on your wedding ring says _'To my one and only love. Forever,'_ so you pull through. Another five months of lemon and mint pass before you can smell citrus again.

    One day, he comes back from work earlier, surprising you. He kisses you till you're breathless. You kiss him everywhere in return. Every time your lips touch his skin, they feel like burning. But you keep going, and he sighs your name. You revel in the sound and smile. He makes love to you as he holds your hands. You want to believe it when he says he loves you, but then you remember that your heart is still in pieces, and you can still taste the liquorice, so the tears stain your face. He never asks why you're crying.

    You wake up before he does and wait for him in the kitchen. He comes in the room a few minutes later and whispers that he's sorry, and you know it's true. You smile and tell him you've made him coffee. He asks you how long have you known for. 'I've always known,' you answer. There's no resentment in your voice. No anger. You slide your wedding ring from your finger and read the inscription one last time. You put it on the table and tell him that you're moving out. He doesn't say a word. You pick your suitcase and leave. You're almost out the door when you hear him cry.

 

Three years fly by. You have a new favourite scent. Fresh linen and green tea. You smile as he looks at you amused. He's holding your hand as you walk, and you're thinking you've never felt happier when you hear a familiar voice saying your name. You turn around.

    'Ohno-kun?' the voice had said.

    “Jun-- Matsumoto-san,” you reply.

    He smiles at you nostalgically.

    “This is Aiba Masaki.” You hold his hand as if you're holding a lifeline. “My partner.”

    Jun's lips are still smiling, but his eyes betray his sadness when he holds up his hand and shakes Masaki's. You notice he still has his wedding ring. Or maybe it's a different one. Maybe somewhere, near or far, Ninomiya has a matching ring and is reading the engraving inside as he smiles. The words echo in your head, clutching at your heart. _'To my one and only love. Forever.'_

    You say goodbye, and walk away. You swear to yourself you won't turn around, but you do, and you see him looking at you from afar. Your grip on your partner's hand strengthens and he looks at you questioningly. You scroll your shoulders and he giggles contentedly.

    When you get home, you push him against the wall. He's taller than you, but his height is _just right_ , and you only have to stand on tip-toes to kiss him. It comes natural to you, and you ask yourself why, before remembering having done this countless times before with Jun. Masaki is just as tall, and just as thin, but the resemblance stops there. You try to let the fragrance of fresh linen embrace you. You try to welcome the taste of green tea into your mouth. But the lingering scent of lemon and mint is still hunting you. Masaki whispers a soft _'Satoshi,'_ and you remember when _he_ used to sigh your name in between kisses. You remember your broken heart, and you realise, it never healed.

    You spend every day for a month in the same spot you met him at the last time. You tell yourself it's a great place to paint, when deep inside you know that you're only there because you hope to see him again. You paint the same landscape five times before the familiar smell reaches your heart.

 

“You know,” Masaki starts one day after you get home late and you lay in bed next to him. “I love Satoshi's scent,” he says with sorrow in his voice.

    “I love Masaki's scent, too,” you say, as guilt eats your insides.

    “You smell like lavender and taste like honey,” he continues. “But lately that isn't true any more.”

    He turns around and smiles sadly at you, and you can see that he's trying hard to fight the tears that are already forming in his eyes.

    “It kills me, Satoshi. When I kiss you, you taste like lemon and mint.”

    Neither of you says a word. He turns around with his back against you again.

    You will see Jun again tomorrow. And the day after. And day after that, too. You turn your back to Masaki and you look at your hands. You smile against the remorse that is killing you from the inside. You fall asleep with a ring in the palm of your hand, as you repeatedly chant the words written on it in your head, like a prayer.

    _'To my one and only love. Forever.'_


End file.
